Political, military standoff escalates in Ukraine's Crimea region

By Chelsea J. Carter. Laura Smith-Spark and Diana Magnay, CNN

updated 10:47 PM EST, Fri March 7, 2014

Ukrainian tanks are transported from their base in Perevalne, Crimea, on Wednesday, March 26. After Russian troops seized most of Ukraine's bases in Crimea, interim Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov ordered the withdrawal of armed forces from the peninsula, citing Russian threats to the lives of military staff and their families.

Ukrainian marines wave as they leave a base in Feodosia, Crimea, on Tuesday, March 25.

Russian sailors stand on the deck of the corvette ship Suzdalets in the bay of Sevastopol, Crimea, on March 25.

Pro-Russian militia members remove a local resident as Russian troops assault the Belbek air base, outside Sevastopol, on Saturday, March 22. Following its annexation of Crimea, Russian forces have consolidated their control of the region.

Soldiers in unmarked uniforms sit atop an armored personnel carrier at the gate of the Belbek air base on March 22.

A Russian sailor holds the Russian Navy's St. Andrew's flag while standing on the bow of the surrendered Ukrainian submarine Zaporozhye on March 22 in Sevastopol.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signs the final decree completing the annexation of Crimea on Friday, March 21, as Upper House Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, left, and State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin watch.

A Ukrainian serviceman leaves a Ukrainian military unit that Russian soldiers took control of in Perevalne on March 21.

Ukrainian border guards run during training at a military camp in Alekseyevka, Ukraine, on March 21.

Russian soldiers patrol the area surrounding a Ukrainian military unit in Perevalne on Thursday, March 20.

Pro-Russian protesters remove the gate to the Ukrainian navy headquarters as Russian troops stand guard in Sevastopol on Wednesday, March 19.

Pro-Russian forces walk inside the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol on March 19.

A member of pro-Russian forces takes down a Ukrainian flag at the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol on March 19.

Alexander Vitko, chief of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, leaves the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol after pro-Russian forces took it over on March 19.

A Russian flag waves as workers install a new sign on a parliament building in Simferopol, Crimea's capital, on March 19.

Russian military personnel surround a Ukrainian military base in Perevalne on March 19.

Nameplates on the front of the Crimean parliament building get removed Tuesday, March 18, in Simferopol.

From left, Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov; Vladimir Konstantinov, speaker of the Crimean parliament; Russian President Vladimir Putin; and Alexei Chaly, the new de facto mayor of Sevastopol, join hands in Moscow on March 18 after signing a treaty to make Crimea part of Russia.

Demonstrators hold a Crimean flag at Lenin Square in Simferopol on March 18.

Ukrainian soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint near Strilkove, Ukraine, close to Crimea on Monday, March 17.

Former boxer and Ukrainian politician Vitali Klitschko addresses reporters in Kiev, Ukraine, on March 17.

Ukrainian troops stand guard in front of the Ukrainian Parliament building in Kiev on March 17.

A Ukrainian man applies for the National Guard at a mobile recruitment center in Kiev on March 17.

Civilians walk past riot police in Simferopol on March 17.

A Ukrainian soldier stands on top of an armored vehicle at a military camp near the village of Michurino, Ukraine, on March 17.

Policemen stand guard outside the regional state administration building in Donetsk, Ukraine, during a rally by pro-Russia activists March 17.

Armed soldiers stand guard outside a Ukrainian military base in Perevalne on March 17.

A man holds a Crimean flag as he stands in front of the Crimean parliament building in Simferopol on March 17.

Crimeans holding Russian flags celebrate in front of the parliament building in Simferopol on Sunday, March 16.

A Ukrainian police officer tries to shield himself from a road block thrown by pro-Russia supporters in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 16.

Pro-Russia demonstrators storm the prosecutor general's office during a rally in Donetsk on March 16.

A child casts her mother's ballot March 16 while holding a Russian flag at a polling station in Simferopol.

A pro-Russian soldier, with the Russian flag behind him, mans a machine gun outside an Ukrainian military base in Perevalne on Saturday, March 15.

A pro-Russian soldier guards the perimeter outside an Ukrainian military base in Perevalne on March 15.

Russian flags wave in front of a monument dedicated to Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin during a pro-Russia rally in Simferopol's Lenin Square on March 15.

Evgenyi Batyukhov cries March 14 at the site where pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian activists clashed the night before in Donetsk, Ukraine.

A line of policemen stand in front of a bus of pro-Ukrainian activists as pro-Russian supporters confront them during a rally in Donetsk on Thursday, March 13.

Pro-Russian supporters clash with pro-Ukrainian activists in Donetsk on March 13.

Recent Academy Award winner Jared Leto walks through Independence Square in Kiev on March 13. During his Oscars acceptance speech in early March, the actor spoke to protesters in Ukraine and Venezuela saying, "We're thinking of you tonight."

A member of a pro-Russian self-defense unit checks a polling station near Simferopol on March 13.

A Ukrainian soldier looks out of the window of a regional military building with a poster reading "Ukraine's armed forces wait for you!" in Donetsk on March 13.

An armed Cossack stands guard at a checkpoint on the road from Simferopol to Sevastopol on March 13.

A pro-Russian soldier speaks to a truck driver outside the Ukrainian infantry base in Perevalne on Wednesday, March 12.

Cossacks stand guard at Crimea's regional parliament building in Simferopol on March 12.

Soldiers are seen aboard the Ukrainian ship Slavutych in the harbor of Sevastopol on Tuesday, March 11.

Ukrainian naval officers board a boat in front of the Russian minesweeper Turbinist in Sevastopol's harbor on March 11.

People shout slogans during a pro-Russia rally in Donetsk on Sunday, March 9.

Ukrainian police detain a demonstrator during a pro-Russian rally in Donetsk on March 9.

Pro-Russia protesters remove a Ukrainian flag from a flagpole taken from a government building in Donetsk on March 9.

Cossacks and other pro-Russian forces stand guard outside a government building in Simferopol on Saturday, March 8.

Ukrainian soldiers load armored personnel carriers into boxcars in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on March 8.

Armed men believed to be Russian military march in a village outside Simferopol on Friday, March 7.

Pro-Russia protesters demonstrate outside the Belbek air base, near Sevastopol, on Thursday, March 6.

A Ukrainian navy officer looks at the scuttled, decommissioned Russian vessel Ochakov from the Black Sea shore outside the town of Myrnyi, Ukraine, on March 6. Russian naval personnel scuttled the ship, blockading access for five Ukrainian naval vessels.

A member of the Russian military patrols around Perevalne on March 6.

Servicemen guard a checkpoint at a Ukrainian navy base in Perevalne on March 6.

Ukrainian troops guard the Belbek air base on March 6.

A woman walks past barricades March 6 that were set up by anti-government protesters in Kiev's Independence Square.

A sailor guards the Ukrainian Navy ship Slavutych in the Bay of Sevastopol on Wednesday, March 5.

People wait in line for food distribution in Independence Square on March 5.

Ukrainian sailors carry meat to their vessel in the Sevastopol harbor on March 5.

Riot police stand at the entrance of a regional administrative building during a rally in Donetsk on March 5.

A Ukrainian police officer gives instructions to members of the media in front of the business class lounge of the Simferopol airport on March 5.

Pro-Russia demonstrators wave a Russian flag after storming a regional administrative building in Donetsk on March 5.

Demonstrators break a police barrier as they storm a regional administrative building in Donetsk on March 5.

Ukrainian military recruits line up to receive instructions in Kiev's Independence Square on Tuesday, March 4.

People stand on the Ukrainian Navy ship Slavutych while it's at harbor in Sevastopol on March 4. Mattresses were placed over the side of the ship to hinder any attempted assault.

Ukrainian troops watch as a Russian navy ship blocks the entrance of the Ukrainian navy base in Sevastopol on March 4.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, wearing a blue scarf, visits a shrine March 4 for the people who were killed in February during anti-government protests in Kiev.

Yuli Mamchun, the commander of the Ukrainian military garrison at the Belbek air base near Sevastopol, salutes on March 4.

Russian soldiers stand guard at the Belbek air base on March 4.

Ukrainian military members march at the Belbek air base on March 4.

Russian soldiers fire warning shots to keep back Ukrainian military members at the Belbek air base on March 4.

A Ukrainian airman puts the Ukrainian national flag over the gate of the Belbek air base as they guard what's left under their control on March 4.

Russian soldiers aim a grenade launcher and machine gun as they guard positions at the Belbek air base on March 4.

Ukrainian seamen stand guard on the Ukrainian navy ship Slavutych in the Sevastopol harbor on Monday, March 3.

Oleg, a Ukrainian soldier, kisses his girlfriend, Svetlana, through the gates of the Belbek base entrance on March 3. Tensions are high at the base, where Ukrainian soldiers were standing guard inside the building while alleged Russian gunmen were standing guard outside the gates.

Wives of Ukrainian soldiers walk past Russian soldiers to visit their husbands guarding a military base in Perevalne on March 3.

A Russian soldier guards an area outside Ukraine's military base in the village of Perevalne on March 3.

A sailor looks out a window near the entrance to the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol on March 3.

Armed men in military uniform walk outside a Ukrainian military unit near Simferopol on Sunday, March 2. Hundreds of armed men in trucks and armored vehicles surrounded the Ukrainian base Sunday in Crimea, blocking its soldiers from leaving.

Soldiers walk outside a Ukrainian military base in Perevalne as a local resident waves a Russian flag March 2.

Demonstrators shout during a rally in Kiev's Independence Square on March 2.

Ukrainian soldiers, left, and unidentified gunmen, right, stand at the gate of an infantry base in Perevalne on March 2.

Ukrainian soldiers guard a gate of an infantry base in Perevalne on March 2.

A woman cries during a rally in Independence Square on March 2.

Protesters hold flags of the United States, Germany and Italy during a rally in Independence Square on March 2.

People attend a morning prayer service at Independence Square on March 2.

A soldier and a truck driver unload bread outside the Ukranian navy headquarters in Sevastopol on March 2.

Heavily armed troops, displaying no identifying insignia and who were mingling with local pro-Russian militants, stand guard outside a local government building in Simferopol on March 2.

A woman waits in front of unidentified men in military fatigues who were blocking a base of the Ukrainian frontier guard unit in Balaklava, Ukraine, on Saturday, March 1.

U.S. President Barack Obama, in the Oval Office of the White House, talks on the phone March 1 with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

People gather around the coffin of a man who was killed during clashes with riot police in Independence Square.

Pro-Russian activists hold Russian flags during a rally in the center of Donetsk on March 1.

Pro-Russian activists clash with Maidan supporters as they storm the regional government building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 1.

A protester stands at a memorial March 1 for the people killed in clashes at Independence Square.

Armed men patrol outside the Simferopol International Airport on Friday, February 28.

An image provided to CNN by a local resident shows Russian tanks on the move in Sevastopol.

Russian troops block a road February 28 toward the military airport in Sevastopol. The Russian Black Sea Fleet is based at the port city.

Armed men stand guard in front of a building near the Simferopol airport on February 28.

An armed man wearing no identifying insignia patrols outside Simferopol International Airport on February 28.

Police stand guard outside the Crimea regional parliament building Thursday, February 27, in Simferopol. Armed men seized the regional government administration building and parliament in Crimea.

Police intervene as Russian supporters gather in front of the parliament building in Simferopol on February 27.

A man adds fuel to a fire at a barricade in Independence Square on February 27. Dozens of people were killed during clashes between security forces and protesters.

Pro-Russia demonstrators wave Russian and Crimean flags in front of a local government building in Simferopol on February 27.

Barricades in front of a government building in Simferopol on February 27 hold a banner that reads: "Crimea Russia." There's a broad divide between those who support the pro-Western developments in Kiev and those who back Russia's continued influence in Crimea and across Ukraine.

Protesters stand in front of a government building in Simferopol on February 27. Tensions have simmered in the Crimea region since the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Protesters in support of the president's ouster rally in Independence Square, which has been the center of opposition, on Wednesday, February 26.

Security forces stand guard during clashes between opposing sides in front of Crimea's parliament building in Simferopol on February 26.

Pro-Russian demonstrators, right, clash with anti-Russian protesters in front of a government building in Simferopol on February 26.

A police officer gets pulled into a crowd of Crimean Tatars in Simferopol on February 26. The Tatars, an ethnic minority group deported during the Stalin era, rallied in support of Ukraine's interim government.

A man places flowers at a barricade near Independence Square on February 26.

On February 26 in Kiev, a woman holds a photograph of a protester killed during the height of tensions.

Police guard a government building in Donetsk on February 26.

Protesters remove a fence that surrounds Ukraine's parliament in Kiev on February 26.

People sing the Ukrainian national anthem at Independence Square on Monday, February 24.

Gas masks used by protesters sit next to a barricade in Independence Square on February 24.

A woman cries February 24 near a memorial for the people killed in Kiev.

People wave a large Ukrainian flag in Independence Square on Sunday, February 23.

Two pro-government supporters are made to pray February 23 in front of a shrine to dead anti-government protesters.

A man and his daughter lay flowers at a memorial for protesters killed in Independence Square.

Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko speaks at Independence Square on Saturday, February 22, hours after being released from prison. Tymoshenko, considered a hero of a 2004 revolution against Yanukovych, was released after 2½ years behind bars.

Tymoshenko is greeted by supporters shortly after being freed from prison in Kharkiv on February 22.

A protester guards the entrance to Yanukovych's abandoned residence outside Kiev on February 22.

Anti-government protesters guard the streets next to the presidential offices in Kiev on February 22.

Anti-government protesters drive a military vehicle in Independence Square on February 22. Many protesters said they wouldn't leave the square until Yanukovych resigned.

Ukrainian lawmakers argue during a session of Parliament on Friday, February 21.

Men in Kiev carry a casket containing the body of a protester killed in clashes with police.

Protesters cheer after news of an agreement between the opposing sides in Kiev on February 21.

The crisis in Ukraine took on a decidedly military flavor Friday as tensions flared between Moscow and Kiev over control of Crimea, even as the world's diplomats said conflict could be avoided.

Crimea, a self-governing peninsula in southern Ukraine with an ethnic Russian majority and strong cultural ties to Russia, has become the epicenter of a battle for influence between Moscow, Kiev and the West since Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was pushed out of office by protesters who were angered over his rebuff of a trade deal with the European Union in favor of one with Russia.

In the days since Yanukovych was ousted, thousands of Russian troops have surrounded military bases and key infrastructure sites, and they have taken control of border crossings.

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At the same time, a political battle has been playing out between the two countries, with Russia's Parliament on Friday giving its defiant support to Crimean lawmakers who want to see their region split from Ukraine and join Russia.

The lawmakers' unanimous call for a vote on separation prompted howls of outrage Thursday in the United States and Europe and the threat of sanctions, including asset freezes, visa bans and travel bans.

The delegation from the Crimean Parliament, which said it would put the decision to a public vote on March 16, headed to Moscow on Friday and got a very different reaction.

Valentina Matvienko, speaker of Russia's upper house of Parliament, told the Crimean delegation it would "support and welcome" any decision made by the Crimean people to become a part of Russia.

"I want to warn separatists and other traitors of the Ukrainian state who are trying to work against Ukraine, any of your decisions taken is unlawful, unconstitutional, and nobody in the civilized world is going to recognize the results of the so-called referendum of the so-called Crimean authorities," he said Friday.

Russia has denounced Yanukovych's ouster as an illegitimate coup, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities.

Putin has insisted he has the right to use military force in Ukraine if necessary to protect ethnic Russians in Crimea.

But Ukrainian officials say no threat exists, and Putin is using it as a pretext to control the region.

U.S. President Barack Obama set out a potential solution to the crisis when he spoke to Putin on Thursday, the White House said.

The proposal includes direct talks between Kiev and Moscow, the withdrawal of Russian forces, international support for elections on May 25, and the presence of international monitors to "ensure that the rights of all Ukrainians are protected, including ethnic Russians," Obama said.

Crimean threat?

What has mostly been a peaceful standoff in Crimea, with virtually no sign of Ukrainian military movement, appeared to take a turn on Friday when pro-Russian forces smashed open the gates of a Ukrainian base near Sevastopol that controls airspace in southern Ukraine, Vitaly Onishenko, a deputy commander at the base, told CNN.

Ukraine's military spokesman initially said the forces were Cossacks, akin to Russian paramilitary troops, but Onishenko later dismissed that claim and said the forces were Russian and wore military uniforms with no insignia.

Outside the base, self-styled Crimean defense forces, similar to local militias, attacked journalists, he said. At least one person, believed to be a journalist, was injured and taken to a hospital, he said.

The standoff at the base eventually ended with the Russian-speaking forces pulling back to the outside of the base, Onishenko said.

Ukrainian authorities also reported that the Russian Black Sea Fleet sank a second of its own, old ships at the entrance to Lake Donuzlav, an inlet on the western coast of Crimea that is home to a Ukrainian naval base. Viktor Shmihanovsky, vice commander of the base, told CNN that several Ukrainian naval ships are now trapped inside.

Unidentified armed troops also have blocked unarmed European military observers from entering the country for the second straight day.

Masked men carrying rifles and wearing camouflage uniforms stopped the 43 observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a regional security organization, at a checkpoint separating the mainland from the Crimean peninsula, CNN's Matthew Chance said.

One man, speaking in Russian, said: "I've been ordered by the government of Crimea not to let anyone in."

And in signs that the pro-Russian Crimean authorities are clamping down on dissent within the peninsula, at least two Ukrainian channels, 1+1 and Channel 5, have been blocked from broadcasting. The head of 1+1 told CNN that Russian state TV outlet Channel One is now broadcasting on its frequency.

A Bulgarian freelance journalist and his colleague also were assaulted while filming in Simferopol, the regional capital. The journalist told CNN he was wrestled to the ground, and a gun was put to his head.

The incident was captured on surveillance footage and aired on a Ukrainian TV channel, Hromadske TV.

The standoff has also prompted neighboring countries and their allies to boost military defenses, with the United States beefing up its number of fighter jets in Lithuania and Poland.

The USS Truxton, a guided-missile destroyer, was also heading to the Black Sea to join in pre-planned military exercises with Romanian and Bulgarian forces.

Asset freezes, visa bans

Meanwhile, as the West seeks to put the diplomatic squeeze on Russia, European Union nations said they'll suspend some talks with Russia and have threatened travel bans, asset freezes and the cancellation of a planned EU-Russia summit.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told French public radio Friday that tougher measures are planned if Moscow doesn't act to de-escalate the situation.

"And if another attempt is made, then we would enter into something completely different -- that is to say serious consequences for the relations between Europe and Russia," he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned against sanctions, saying in a statement that they would "inevitably boomerang" on the United States.

But there's help on hand for the fledgling government in Kiev.

Ukraine's new government and the EU have agreed to revive a trade deal and an aid package that could bring $15 billion to Ukraine.

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The International Monetary Fund is also ready to help, the head of the agency's European section said. NATO is willing to help Ukraine's military "modernize and strengthen," Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told CNN's Becky Anderson on Friday.

Such aid is desperately needed.

The Russian gas company, Gazprom, has not received any payment from Ukraine in February, according to the company's CEO, the Russian state news agency Itar-Tass, reported Friday.

Ukraine's Paralympic team sent just one member to participate in the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in the Russian city of Sochi, said Dmitry Bulatov, Ukrainian minister of sports and youth.

The decision to boycott the ceremonies, with the exception of a single flag bearer, was made unanimously by the team, he said.

"This is how our team expresses protest against aggressors and occupants entering our land," Bulatov said.

Official delegations from the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, Canada and Poland earlier announced plans not to attend the Games. Athletes from those countries will still compete.

Map of Crimea

Map of Crimea

Muslim minority fears for safety

Russian speakers make up about 60% of Crimea's population of more than 2 million, but around a quarter are Ukrainian and 12% are Crimean Tatar, a predominately Muslim minority. Neither of the latter two groups would welcome a switch to Russian control.

A CNN crew met with Crimean Tatars in the town of Bakhchisaray amid fears for their safety that have reminded some of past oppression under the Soviet Union.

Many spent years in exile -- in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan or other Soviet republics -- after the Soviet Union deported them for supposedly collaborating with Adolf Hitler.

"It is not legal," one elderly man said. "We are the original nation of Crimea. Our Khan state was here. Russia left us with no rights.

"We don't want to be with Russia, we want to be with Ukraine," he said.